The Best of Me

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I always give this author five stars because his insane humor appeals to my own twisted sense of what makes me laugh. I lowered it to four stars but it is not the fault of the author but my own. The title should have told me that these were his favorites from previous books. I have read all of his books and this collection of stories is taken from them with some additional columns/essays that he has written. So, I was basically re-reading chapters from books that I have read,, several, many times. It was a bit disappointing, although the blurbs from his essays/columns were new to me and I enjoyed them immensely.

An oddly entertaining collection of essays that covers more than 100 songs but doesn’t really explain the decade that created them—which may be beside the point. Finally, towards the end of his life, Sedaris's nonagenarian father told him, "You've accomplished so many fantastic things in your life. You're well....I want to tell you....you....you won."For more than 25 years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost impossible to listen without laughing. What could be a more tempting Christmas gift than a compendium of David Sedaris's best stories, selected by the author himself? From a spectacular career spanning almost three decades, these stories have become modern classics and are now for the first time collected in one volume. The collection will also feature an introduction by the author; two never-before-collected stories, 'Unbuttoned' and 'Undecided'; and a new interview with David Sedaris. Humorist David Sedaris put together some of his best previously published stories in this book. The author is almost always funny, but some of his anecdotes are melancholy and nostalgic. In addition to recounting humorous incidents in his life Sedaris writes about his sister's suicide; his mother's alcoholism; and his father's disapproval. The following are examples of his anecdotes.

He doesn’t take himself seriously, and he doesn’t want the reader to take him too seriously either, which is what makes this book so fun. Author David Sedaris

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I absolutely blew through this. David Sedaris is a once in a generation talent and this collection of stories is no exception to that rule. Some of his die-hard fans might find this redundant, but as I’ve only ever read Calypso (and loved it), a greatest hits album is exactly what I want from this author! David thought she had something in her mouth until he realized she was speaking in code. So David said, "Okay, but can you tell me WHICH hour ott?" This isn’t the greatest hits that I was expecting, which I realize is as subjective a view as any since what’s great to one is not to another, especially the author himself. While I was hoping for more of a cross section from every one of his many books, what I found were stories of a more recent vintage. In a foreign language class conducted exclusively in French, the teacher asked a question about Easter. A Moroccan student asked "Excuse me, but what's an Easter?" David Sedaris’s best stories and essays, spanning his remarkable career - as selected and read by the author himself. Featuring fresh and classic recordings, including a new essay and an interview exclusive to the audiobook.

Taken together, the performances in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected - it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder - but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful. Genius… It is miraculous to read these pieces… You must read The Best of Me.” —Andrew Sean Greer, New York Times Book Review When gay marriage became legal in the United States, Sedaris's accountant advised him it would be financially advantageous if David and his partner Hugh got married. Sedaris writes, "While I often dreamed of making a life with another man, I never extended the fantasy to marriage....The whole thing felt like a step down to me. From the dawn of time, the one irrefutably good thing about gay men and lesbians was that we didn't force people to sit through our weddings." Taken together, the stories in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected—it’s often harder, more fraught, and certainly weirder—but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful.I’m someone who always has either a book in my hand or an audiobook in my ear. The former is often praised, while the latter is frequently questioned. "Listening to an audiobook isn’t really reading," "I just can’t stand someone else’s voice that long,” and “I zone out” are common things I hear. But occasionally people will say, “I just don’t know where to start.” To those friends I say, this is the place.

I’m assuming there will be plenty of people/critics who call Sedaris’ latest release nothing but a money grab. To them I say . . . . . Taken together, the stories in The Best of Me reveal the wonder and delight Sedaris takes in the surprises life brings him. No experience, he sees, is quite as he expected - it's often harder, more fraught and certainly weirder - but sometimes it is also much richer and more wonderful. Apparently I wasn’t the only fan who felt this way, because an interview with David is included at the end of the essays that also wasn’t in the earlier version. Yay! I’m happy you hear your fans.

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It is a party for the little boy of God who call his self Jesus and then he die one day on two....morsels of ....lumber."